The Trapped Village
by nycm-e-t
Summary: A man wanders into the capital of Konoha to find that it's been destroyed. However, the further into the village he goes, the stranger things become. This is Naruto in Japanese Past. NaruHina SasuSaku ShikaIno and maybe TenNeji.
1. The Stranger Arrives

Ok. This is my first story, but you probably don't care. This story is about Naruto in Japanese past. It's better than it sounds.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

The stranger trudged along the dusty path until he reached a fading sign. He stared at the sign for a moment and then looked at the broken down shacks behind it. _There's no way that this could possibly be the capital of Konoha,_ the man thought. _The sign must be wrong. _He turned around and stared down the path he had just traveled on. _Well, maybe I could sleep in one of these shacks. There are probably some nicer ones farther in._ The stranger walked past the sign and started weaving his way through the maze of shacks. As he walked farther into the destroyed village, the houses seemed to space themselves out and a path began to form. The sun was now on the edge of the horizon and the stranger still hadn't found a decent house. He was just about to give up when he saw a gate a little farther in. When he approached the gate, a knife grazed his arm and struck the ground about a foot behind him. The stranger looked in the direction the knife had come from and saw a man standing there. This man was wearing a military uniform and had his hair tied back in a ponytail. The soldier looked at the stranger with boredom in his eyes and said, "Yosomono, what are you doing here?"

"What am I doing? What the fuck are _you_ doing?! I could have been killed!" the stranger yelled back.

The soldier sighed and muttered something before looking back at the man. "Look, just tell me what you're doing here and I'll let you in."

The stranger shook his head. "No way! You almost killed me. You owe me free passage and a free meal!"

"The hell I do! Just tell me what you want here," the soldier insisted.

"I want food and a place to sleep right now, you good-for nothing Ketsunoana!" the stranger yelled.

The soldier sighed again. "Fine. I'll let you in, troublesome Yosomono."

"I have a name, you know!"

"Yeah, yeah." The soldier turned away and flipped a switch. The gate opened and the man walked in.

"Let's go. You've got to check in with the head of the military before we do anything else," the soldier replied.

"Wait!" the man yelled. "What's your name?"

The soldier paused and then sighed. "My name is Nara Shikamaru. And yours, Yosomono?"

"Uzumaki Naruto," the man replied.

"Alright then, Yosomono. Let's go," Shikamaru said and continued walking.

Naruto glared at Shikamaru and ran behind him. _This place is already starting to annoy me…_


	2. The Weirdness Begins

Yes! If you're reading this it means my story was a success! Well please continue reading.

Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

Naruto walked behind Shikamaru for what seemed like ages. But while they were walking, Naruto noticed a strange change. All of the houses were improving by a great degree. The roofs were intact, the paint seemed fresh, and the pathways were swept clean. As Naruto looked at the houses, he bumped into something. When he looked up, he saw Shikamaru standing still. Naruto looked around him and his eyes widened in awe. The houses around them were now large and gorgeous, but in front of them stood three amazing mansions and the legendary Hokage carvings above the center one.

Shikamaru turned to Naruto and said, "Listen, Yosomono. I'm saying this stuff once and only once." He turned to the mansion on the left. "The blue house with the fire demon sculptures at the entrance is the Uchiha Mansion. We leave it alone and everything's peachy keen." Then he turned to the right and pointed at the yellow and orange house. "That is the Hyuga Monastery. You will without a doubt be spending your stay here in that Monastery."

Naruto cursed in his mind. _How great. They have a troop of monks here. If that's where I'm staying, my stay is going to be very short. Count on it._

"And finally," Shikamaru continued, "we have the red building under the Hokage faces. That's where the Hokage and his important officials stay. I live there in case you every need me, but I'm praying to Kami that you won't."

Before Naruto could reply, he and Shikamaru heard a laugh. They both turned to see a beggar sitting at the bottom of the monastery steps. The man wore a beat up kimono and had a bag at his side. What interested Naruto the most, though, were the red markings on the man's face.

"Oh, come on, Shikamaru!" the man yelled with a grin. "Even if the man did need you, you wouldn't help him!"

"Shut up, Kiba," Shikamaru spat back at the beggar. "I won't take that shit from a lame beggar like you!" Naruto looked back at Kiba. _Lame? This man doesn't seem lame._

Kiba looked at Naruto for a good minute and then turned to Shikamaru. "You know you have to tell the Hokage about visitors before they enter the village. You owe me."

"I owe you nothing," Shikamaru replied. "I would have taken the heat either way." Just as Naruto was about to ask what was going on, a loud gong rang through the village.

"Chow time!" Kiba exclaimed. Kiba turned towards the direction of the gate and whistled. Soon, a thumping sound was heard. Naruto looked at where Kiba had whistled and saw a giant grey dog running in their direction. The dog stopped by Kiba and licked him happily. Naruto stared in shock at the giant dog now in front of them.

"What the hell is that?" Naruto screamed.

"Be quiet, Yosomono. That's Kiba's dog, Akamaru. Now come on. We've got to-" Shikamaru stopped talking and bowed towards the Monastery steps. Naruto was turning to see what was going on when Shikamaru grabbed him by the collar of his robe and pulled him into a bow. Naruto turned to the side and saw Kiba and Akamaru bowing as well.

"Gashi, Hinata-sama," Shikamaru said. Naruto looked up and saw a beautiful young lady standing in front of them. She was wearing a silk lavender kimono and fiddling with some prayer beads wrapped around her hand and seemed very shy.

"Wow!" Naruto yelled when he saw the beautiful girl. She jumped and looked around to see what made the noise. Naruto saw her clear eyes and realized she was blind. Shikamaru glared at Naruto and raised his head.

"Hinata-sama," Shikamaru began. Hinata turned to Shikamaru and waited for him to continue. "This is Uzumaki Naruto. He is a traveler and is wondering if he could spend the night in your monastery."

Hinata smiled when she heard this. "Of course he can," she replied. She then turned in the direction where Kiba was and said, "I'm sorry Kiba, but I didn't bring the food with me. Can Akamaru give you a ride up the stairs?"

"Of course, Hinata-chan," Kiba answered with a smile.

Hinata turned back to Naruto and said, "Will you be eating with us, too?"

"No, Hinata-sama," Shikamaru said for Naruto. "He'll eat with me."

"All right then," Hinata answered and turned to the steps. Kiba pulled himself up onto Akamaru and rode up the stairs; holding Hinata's hand.

While Naruto was following Shikamaru, he realized something. "Wait, Shikamaru! If Hinata's blind, how did she get down the stairs on her own?"

Shikamaru sighed. "Hinata-**sama** has lived in that house all of her life. She knows well enough where everything is. Although, Neji usually helps her out…" Shikamaru seemed to enter a deep thought and Naruto stared at him. Finally, Shikamaru snapped back to reality and clapped his hands together.

"Well, you're probably hungry," he said. "After all, everyone is eating right now." Naruto smelled the air and realized Shikamaru was right. The smell of food and smoke was flowing all through the air. Naruto's stomach growled.

Shikamaru sighed. "Since you probably don't have any money, I'll treat you to dinner; no matter how troublesome it is."

Naruto's faced lit up. "Alright! Ramen it is!" He started racing ahead of Shikamaru when he realized that he had no idea where he was going. He turned back to Shikamaru, who pointed to the left. Naruto shrugged it off and headed for the restaurant. But back at the Hyuga Monastery, someone glared down. The man staring at Naruto was wearing farmer's clothes and had a piece of cloth wrapped around his head. Even though his eyes appeared blind, you could see faint pupils glaring at the blond stranger. Outside his room stood Hinata's protector.

"Neji," the protector said. "We need to talk."

Neji turned to face the man and replied, "What do you mean?"

"You know damn well what I mean. I told you an outsider was coming and you were supposed to tell Hinata-chan," the man growled. "But you didn't because you wanted her to mess up. Our whole plan could have been ruined because of your obsession to beat the Main Branch!"

Neji turned back to Naruto. "Well, the plan wasn't ruined, so just forget about it. Now Hinata knows and you don't have to worry about it."

The man glared back at Neji. "If you try this ever again-"

"Baka," Neji replied. "I never repeat a plan that fails."

Even though he was still mad at Neji, he walked away, thinking about whether or not he should report this behavior to Hiashi. In the end, he decided not to. He knew that Neji would die if anyone found out what he had done.

So, can anyone guess who the man walking away from Neji is? I'll say if you guess right, but you've got to think hard as to whom it is. Try and find it.


	3. Ichiraku Meeting

So, for those of you who guessed right, I sent messages saying so. For those who didn't, just keep thinking it over. You'll get it.

Disclaimer: See chapter 2

Naruto was walking towards the building that Shikamaru had pointed to when the door swung open and a man stumbled out. Naruto looked at the door and saw another beautiful young lady. However, this girl had brown hair placed in two buns on her head and wore an oversized pink shirt with green pants under them (AN: when I say oversized, I mean the sleeves go past her hands and the hem goes to her knees). Another difference between Hinata and this woman was that this lady looked like she was about to kill the man before her.

"I swear to Kami, Jiraiya, if you try to look up any more women's skirts, I will not hesitate to-" she paused and looked at Naruto and Shikamaru. "Oh, right," she said to herself. Naruto stared at her; puzzled. _Oh, right? What does that mean?_ The lady turned to Shikamaru and smiled. "Hi, Shika! Table for two?"

"Thanks, Tenten," Shikamaru replied. "Go back to doing… whatever." Shikamaru entered the restaurant with Naruto close behind and sat down at the closest table. Naruto looked around and saw that the restaurant was a noodle house. _Ramen…_ Naruto's stomach growled even louder when he thought of the ramen.

"You're paying, right, Shika?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru glared at him. "Not if you call me Shika again."

Tenten came back into the building again and walked over to Shikamaru and Naruto. "Sorry to keep you guys waiting. Jiraiya was trying to look up Ayame's skirt, so I had to kick him out."

"WHAT?! Jiraiya has committed another act of indecency?" a man sitting at a table close to them screamed. He was wearing a green kimono that covered his entire body except for his face. Naruto looked at the man with much confusion. _Who the hell is he? And who's the guy with him? Is that his son? Creepy…_

"I'm afraid so Gai," Tenten said as she flipped through her note pad.

"Oh no, Gai-sensei. It seems Jiraiya is in need of another one of your strict lectures!" said the mini version of the guy called Gai.

"That he is Lee," Gai answered. He turned and gave Tenten the thumbs up. "Don't you worry, Tenten. Your cousin Lee and I shall take care of everything!"

"Yeah, Gai. I'm sure you will," Tenten said as she took out a pencil.

"Let's go, Lee!" Gai shouted.

"Hai, Gai-sensei!" Lee yelled back and the two ran through the door.

Naruto gaped in horror. "You're **related** to those guys?"

Tenten stared at Naruto and then said, "Oh! No, no, no, no! They live in the inn upstairs. They consider me family for taking them in and they will call me cousin. They're a little weird that way. Now, what would you like?"

"Oh," Naruto said. "Do you have any ramen?"

"Do I?" Tenten said; clearly amused at Naruto's question. She leaned forward and said, "Ayame **specializes** in ramen."

"Alright! I'll have three bowls to start, please!" Naruto grinned.

"Coming right up! And you Shika?" Tenten asked happily.

"Nothing," Shikamaru answered. "I figure this will cost me enough as it is."

"Well, just remember, Shika," Tenten said. "Your loss is my gain!"

Tenten walked back to the kitchen; leaving Naruto to talk to Shikamaru. "So," Naruto began. "There are some very… interesting people here. What're their stories?"

Shikamaru glanced at Naruto and seemed to contemplate whether or not he should tell Naruto. After a moment or two, Shikamaru sighed and leaned over the table.

"Well," Shikamaru said, "When the capital was first made, everyone was dying to live here. They thought it would be a lot safer to stay near the Hokage; when in actuality, you were safer if you were far away. People realized this after the Uchiha Massacre-"

"Wait," Naruto interrupted. "I thought you said no one wants us going in there. Is the killer-"

"The killer isn't there anymore, but the last remaining Uchiha is," Shikamaru answered. "And trust me, he doesn't want you anywhere near his house. Back to where I was, after the Uchiha Massacre, everyone decided to leave. That's why there are so many abandoned houses. Anyway, since the Hyugas and the Uchihas were of high power and were very important, they decided to stay with the Hokage. As for us individuals, we've all got different stories. One of my ancestors helped a former Hokage who was in a tight spot, so my clan has remained here by request of the Hokage. Now, Kiba was a wandering thief who used his dog to help him steal things. When he came into the village, he was badly hurt. Even though many people, one in particular, were against him staying here, Hinata-sama helped heal him. Now, Kiba feels indebted and stays in the village; helping us when he can. Tenten was a traveling brothel girl who decided to settle down and Gai came into the village one day incredibly drunk with Lee dragging him all alone. As for the others… well, you haven't met them, so I'll tell you their stories later."

Naruto wanted to ask more, but Tenten came with the food and Naruto quickly forgot about asking questions. While Tenten walked away, she slipped Shikamaru a note. He read it and then got up.

"Wur ya goin?" Naruto mumbled through his food.

"I've got to use the bathroom," Shikamaru lied. "Order whatever else you want, but try and remember that I'm not made of cash."

Naruto quickly started stuffing his mouth with food again as Shikamaru walked towards Tenten. "What's wrong, Tenten?"

"Well," Tenten started. "We haven't had a visitor in ages, and… I'm worried. What if he gets stuck here, too?"

Shikamaru actually looked sympathetic as he looked at Tenten. "Don't worry. We'll find a way to get rid of him quickly. I'm half thinking of dropping him off at the Uchiha Manor by 'accident' if that's what it's going to take."

"But it isn't just that," Tenten protested. "I felt really strange while I was talking to him. I mean, he seems nice enough, but… something just doesn't fit right."

"Don't worry," Shikamaru assured her. "He'll stay for a night or two and then he's gone. But if he isn't, you'll just have to deal with it. If he goes, everyone's happy. If not, we've got a new member to the family. Just don't worry. It'll be alright either way." Tenten nodded, but it was obvious she didn't want Naruto to share their fate.

"Now come on," Shikamaru told her. "I'm sure Naruto will want some more ramen, and that means your gain, right?"

Tenten smiled and followed Shikamaru back to the table where Naruto was waiting for more food.


	4. Falling Down Stairs

So… on to the chapter!

Disclaimer: See chapter 3

Finally, Naruto set down his chopsticks and smiled contently. Shikamaru looked at the numerous dishes in front of him.

"Man," Shikamaru muttered. "You're almost as bad as Choji. And I thought that was impossible."

Naruto looked at Shikamaru. "Choji?" The door to the restaurant suddenly swung open and in walked a fat man clad in samurai armor. The samurai turned towards Shikamaru and smiled. He walked over to where the two men sat and sat with them.

"Hey, Shikamaru!" the man said with a large grin on his face.

"Hey, Choji," Shikamaru replied.

Naruto turned to Choji. "Wow! We were just talking about you. Man you're fa-" Naruto was cut short because of Shikamaru and Tenten's hands going over his mouth. Choji glared at Naruto.

"Who's the wise guy?" Choji asked while giving Naruto an if-looks-could-kill glare.

"Um, this is Naruto," Tenten quickly answered. Then she leaned forward and practically whispered, "The traveler…" Something seemed to click in Choji's head because he stopped staring at Naruto and looked at Shikamaru questioningly.

Tenten broke the silence between the two. "So, what would you like to order?"

"I'll get the usual," Choji said. He continued staring at Shikamaru after Tenten left, until he seemed to lose interest and he turned back to Naruto.

"So, you're new around here," Choji started. "What do you think? Pleasant or what?"

Naruto looked at Shikamaru with a confused gaze, but Shikamaru shrugged it off and closed his eyes. Naruto turned back to Choji and smiled.

"Well, no offense to your village, but you guys need some serious changes done here. This place looks like crap."

"Well," Choji said, "we don't really do many changes around here. If you don't like it here, I advise leaving… as soon as you can… like now."

Shikamaru opened his eyes and looked straight at Choji. "Now, Choji, it's rude to turn guests out of the village on their first night here."

"Well, Shikamaru, if he doesn't like it here, he really should leave."

"Choji, just because the town doesn't look very appealing doesn't mean he won't like it. He'd be welcomed with open arms by the others."

"These others exclude Neji, right?"

Naruto watched the two argue back and forth. _So what if I don't really love the town. It's not like I'll be here long._ "You know, I don't plan on staying long. Maybe a day or two, but not much longer," Naruto assured Choji.

Shikamaru and Choji looked at him for a moment, then; relief seemed to spread across their faces.

"That's good," Choji said. "I doubt you'd like this town much, so…"

Naruto kept looking at the tow of them in extreme confusion. _Everyone seems to want me out of the town… Maybe I should stay longer just to see why they want me gone._

"Come on, Yosomono," Shikamaru said as he got up from his seat. "We still have to meet the head of the military and it's getting late."

"Ok," Naruto agreed as he followed Shikamaru out. Naruto quickly turned back and shouted, "Thanks Tenten and Ayame! Your ramen rocks!" Tenten smiled and waved goodbye; as did Ayame from the kitchen door. Naruto went out of the door after Shikamaru and saw Gai and Lee talking to the pervert named Jiraiya in the middle of the square. _…So weird…_ Naruto and Shikamaru started heading up the steps to the Hokage's mansion. As they were walking, a blonde haired girl wearing a violet workers kimono started walking down the steps. She saw Shikamaru and screamed, "Shika! I haven't seen you in ages!" Then the girl saw Naruto and said, "And I've never seen you. You must be the traveler! I'm Ino." Naruto looked at this girl for a while, thinking about how she had to be one of the few friendly faces he had seen so far.

Shikamaru turned to Ino and said, "So, Ino, what's with all those flowers? They won't all fit in your ponytail."

Ino glared at Shikamaru. "If you must know, Shika, these are for Sasuke-kun."

"Hasn't he shrugged off everything you've done to try and impress him?"

Before Ino could answer, Naruto asked, "Who's Sasuke?"

"**WHO'S SASUKE?**" Ino shouted so loudly, Gai, Lee and Jiraiya looked at the steps for a second before the lecture continued. Naruto jumped at the loud noise and Shikamaru rolled his eyes; muttering something along the lines of troublesome.

"He's the last Uchiha and he's sssssoooooooooooo hot!!!" Ino swooned. Naruto looked at the Uchiha mansion as Ino kept talking about how hot Sasuke was. _So he's in there… the last Uchiha…_ Naruto's eyes grew wide when he saw some movement in one of the windows. Someone was looking from the window at them. Naruto couldn't see the person well, but knew it had to be Uchiha Sasuke. The figure at the window stood still for a while, then turned and left. Naruto felt something inside him. He recognized it as _that_ feeling and, what was worse, it was growing.

Shikamaru glared at Ino before finally interrupting her to say, "Ino, I doubt he wants to hear about how 'hot' you think Sasuke is, right Yoso-" Ino and Shikamaru turned to see Naruto falling down the stairs. They both ran after him and reached him when he had landed on the ground. Naruto was clutching his sides and quivering all over. Then, he started coughing up blood.

"Quick, Gai, Lee!" Shikamaru shouted at the newly arrived spectators. "Pick Naruto up and bring him into the building! Ino, you and I need to go and find Tsunade or Sakura quickly. Go!"

Then, Naruto blacked out, with the image of the figure at the window in his head and the desire to kill fresh in his mind.


	5. Happily Ever After?

I am so sorry I haven't updated in a while

I am so sorry I haven't updated in a while! My old computer died from a deadly virus and I had to get a new one, but, if you knew me, you'd know I like to procrastinate. It's kind of my hobby... So, on with the story! (There may be some repeats in character introduction because I wasn't able to upload the documents from my old computer, so please forgive me for that, too).

Disclaimer: See chapter 4

--

What happened? I felt like a computer there were so many wires in me. I could feel the needles injecting Kami knows what into my body. And then I remembered. Those eyes... It's like they saw right through me... Like they knew what I was thinking.. What I was planning... I have to get out of here. I sat up and looked around me. No one was in this room and judging from the silence outside, no one was there either. I started ripping the wires out. It felt like some might have torn a bit of muscle when I pulled them, but I heal quickly. I could deal with a bit of pain.  
I slowly opened the door and glanced outside. I was right; the halls were deserted. But they wouldn't be for long. Voices could be heard from around the corner and I felt that if I didn't run now, I'd never be able to leave this place. I closed the door behind me and ran to the one across from me. The voices grew louder and paused outside my door.  
"Shikamaru, you can't be telling me everything!" The voice was definitely female and pretty attractive sounding at that.  
"I don't know what else there is to tell, Sakura!" That was Shika, without a doubt. "We were walking up the stairs and then he just passed out! Maybe he was exhausted from his travels."  
"He didn't pass out from exhaustion! When he came in, he was whimpering and trembling! Something spooked him so bad that he went into a serious state of shock and passed out. Not only that, but his condition was life-threatening! I had to hook him up on every kind of medicine known to man to stabilize him! Take a look for yourself."  
The door opened and I heard a gasp of shock. "How can he be gone? Shikamaru, do you realize what's happened? He could be anywhere and-" For some reason there was a pause, and then this Sakura started to whisper. "What if he sees something he shouldn't? Our highest priority is getting him out of here with no knowledge of what's going on here. Do you understand?"  
"I know," Shikamaru sounded worried. "I'll tell the Hokage to put the village on alert. No one is to act out of character until he's found and gotten rid of. In the meantime, go search for him. He can't have gotten far."  
I heard them run off in different directions. Talk about messed up priorities. Neither one seemed to care that I'm not on my medication and could die without it (of course, that's not true, but they don't know). And what am I not supposed to see? Why is everyone acting so weird? I've got to know. I'll do whatever it takes to find out! I waited to make sure the coast was clear. After minute or two of silence, I left my hideout and started to the right.  
I turned the corner... just as someone else did. I took a step back and looked up. This guy was tall, but really old. Why's he wearing a military uniform? I thought they had a cut-off. They can't let a silver-haired man work for the military, right?  
His visible eye grew wide, but then he smiled. Well, it felt like a smile; I couldn't see his face.  
"So you must be Uzumaki Naruto!" He held out a hand for me to shake. "How nice to meet you! We don't get outsiders very often."  
I looked from his hand to his face. Why's he all nice? Everyone else seems to hate me! I decided it was only right to shake the old guys' hand.  
His smile seemed to grow. He laughed a bit as he continued. "Oh, I haven't introduced myself, have I? My name's Hatake Kakashi. It's a pleasure to meet you!" This guy gets nicer by the minute! I smiled back.  
"Nice to meet you, too! You're the first nice person I've met here!"  
"Oh, come on! I'm sure you've met someone nice here other than me. Have you gone to the Hyuga house yet?"  
I twitched a bit at the mention of those monks. "Well, yeah, that girl was nice..."  
"Oh, so you've met Hinata-sama already?"  
"Yeah!" I was kinda shocked that he was actually taking time to talk to me.  
"Well, I happen to know someone very nice who would like to meet you!" He started walking away (pretty quickly for an old guy) and waited for me to catch up when he moved too fast. As we roamed the halls, I was keeping a constant look-out for Shika or Sakura. I don't know why, but as I wandered the halls, I felt like it was the most important thing to meet whoever Kakashi-sama was taking me to.  
"So, Kakashi-ue-"  
"Whoa, what's with the formality? You might as well say Ojii-sama! Leave it at Kakashi-sempai."  
"Ok, Kakashi-sempai, who are you taking me to see?"  
"Well, he doesn't really sound like the nice-guy type, but he is. His name's Iruka and he's at the military rank Chunin." Wow, Chunin is a pretty good rank. But for him to be here protecting the Hokage, you'd expect him to be a Jonin. "He actually commutes from here. He's our ears and eyes to the rest of the country."  
"Wait," I stopped walking, wondering how I should word the question. "He commutes? Sorry, but, the way people are acting, it seems like no one ever leaves."  
"That's ridiculous! If no one left, how could we get food or know what was going on in Konoha?"  
"But TenTen-" You would think in a hospital, people would no better than to tackle someone.  
"Oh, Uzumaki-kun! No... NARUTO-KUN!! I can not tell you just how happy we are to see you walking around!" Gai and Lee-kun were causing more damage to me than falling down the stairs had. And tears? Really? We had just met! How attached could they be?  
"Gai-sensei! Look who is here with Naruto-kun!"  
Gai looked up and practically roared when he saw Kakashi. "My greatest rival! It is fate we meet today. Be forewarned, whatever challenge arises today, I shall be... THE VICTOR!!" Kakashi-sempai sighed. I got the feeling this was a part of his daily routine.  
"Gai, you and Lee are still crushing Naruto-kun..."  
The two looked down at me (like they thought he was lying!) and started crying and hugging me again!  
"Oh, Naruto-kun! How can we earn your forgiveness?"  
"LEE! We must race around the village 500 times to achieve atonement!" The funniest part was they still didn't get off of me...  
"Lee-kun! Gai-san! You have to get off of Naruto!" Kuso! Shika found me! I tried to push them off before Shika got over to me, but Shika and Ino were faster than I was.  
"You two should know better than to tackle a patient!" Ino was helping me up while yelling at them. Her long hair was getting in my face and it was pretty annoying.  
"Ino-chan, please go get Sakura-chan. Naruto needs to get back to his room for more treatment." Shika was becoming a pretty big kill-joy.  
"Treatment?" Kakashi-sempai was pretty confused and it looked like Gai and Lee-kun were just as baffled. After all, I looked like I was visiting someone in the hospital rather than being a patient.  
"Yes, we had to put Naruto on all sorts of medication. His blood was circulating too fast and wasn't carrying enough oxygen to his body. We were able to slow it down for a while, but he was still too weak to move around... Well, we thought so..."  
Uh-oh! They know something's up! I need to start acting weaker! I started breathing more heavily and grabbed my heart like it was in pain. My act was pretty convincing, too. Everyone got into a panic, even Shika. I was rushed back to my room.  
Maybe my act was too convincing, because the second they had me lying down, I was given a sedative...

I had spent one concise week in the hospital and had gotten used to the room and random visits. Ino-chan, Gai-sensei, Lee-kun, Kakashi-sempai, even Shika had come to make sure I was alright. Once, Kiba-kun and Hinata-sama had come to see me. They had brought Hinata's cousin, Neji, and I could see why I hadn't met him yet; he was avoiding me and, with an attitude like his, I couldn't say I minded. Kakashi-sempai had brought Iruka-sensei to visit me and ever since, he would stop by every day for at least two hours. There was only one time Iruka-sensei hadn't come to visit me and that was when Sakura-chan was checking up on me. Oh, Sakura-chan! She was the hottest nurse I'd seen so far, but she didn't appreciate it when I told her that. IN fact, the next day, I woke up and saw this creepy guy sitting next to me. I tried to talk to him, but he just ignored me. Nearly an hour later, he got up and just left. I asked Iruka-sensei about him and he told me that the creepy guy was named Shino and he was sometimes called in to help out at the hospital. Sakura-chan had probably told him to keep an eye on me. I asked Iruka-sensei if there was anyone else I should meet, but he said that the only people I hadn't met were a few other officers and the Hokage.  
"Jiraya doesn't really stay here long and Tsunade and Shizune also come and go as they please," Iruka-sensei explained. "Everyone else, except me and four other officers, live here and stay here."  
"What about that Uchiha guy? Sasuke, right?" I wanted to know if he ever left his house.  
Iruka-sensei was silent for a second, but then mumbled, "Sasuke never leaves his house. He stays there all day and night. We're all worried for him. It's not healthy for him to stay there, but he refuses to leave. Too many memories for him to part with, he says..."  
I grew quiet. This Sasuke character seemed interesting and, even though I had never met him, I, too, was starting to worry for him.  
"So," Iruka-sensei suddenly smiled. "I heard you're well enough to leave the hospital. That means you'll be staying with the Hyugas for a night or two, right?"  
I groaned. I had been pushing off leaving the hospital for that exact reason. Monks... They're the last people I should be around..  
Iruka-sensei seemed to get the message loud and clear. "You know, My house is pretty big and I've got a spare room-"  
"REALLY, IRUKA-SENSEI?!" I sat up quickly and grinned at him. "That would rock! You'd let me stay at your place?"  
"Well, If you really don't want to stay with the monks-"  
"THANK YOU, SENSEI!! Thank you SOOOO much!!" I hugged him as tight as I could. Things were looking up for me. I had a home. I froze at that thought. A home. A home! I wonder if Iruka-sensei was thinking of it that way; probably not. And those monks... They were another problem. Not to mention, even though I had a lot of visitors, I couldn't forget how eager they had been to get me out. they probably still felt that way.  
And then, Iruka-sensei hugged me back. I couldn't help it. I decided to get my hopes up and stay here for as long as I could. The closest thing to a family I had ever known was here. I wasn't going to leave no matter what. So I embraced the thought. I had a home.

--

"Haku, are you ready?"  
"Yes, shishou."  
"Well, then, let's see how much money we can make today. The man with the biggest price on his head is Hatake Kakashi. That'll be our next target, then."  
"Very well, shishou."  
"Then we're off to Konoha." And with that, the two foreigners disappeared into the night, head for Konoha with death in their hearts.

--

Once again, I'm sorry for not updating in so long. It upsets me when people don't update their stories, so I'm really sorry and I'm going to try my hardest to never let it happen again. Thanks for still reading!


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